Part One
Growing Shadow
Chapter One
Home
The Child was a nuisance. How could any youth be such a thorn in Ganondorf's side? He had more power and cunning that the Gods themselves, and he was stopped by a boy that could barely lift his sword!
Ganondorf pounded on the obsidian desk, driving a deep crack down the middle. He looked at the break, and it did not serve to quell his rage. He kicked the desk hard, and it shattered against the wall into sharp splinters that sprayed across the floor. They cut his arms and face, trickling blood down his brown skin. He barely noticed. The Triforce of Power, glowing brightly on his right hand, was throbbing painfully. He looked at it, and a pang of fear struck his stomach like a physical blow. It glowed red; the light was throbbing with the pain in a rhythmic strobe. He knew what was happening.
"Guard!" he screamed, and a Lizalfos armed with an obsidian stiletto ran through the big double-doors immediately. His eyes clouded with fear for a moment at the sight of the shattered desk. But he quickly snapped back to focus and bowed hastily several times.
"I beg your pardon, Sir, I was—"
"Your pardon means nothing to me, fool!" He looked down at his hand and his voice lost its edge. "Bring me Agahnim… Waste not a second."
The Lizalfos raced from the room.
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Link was home.
Four years had passed without even a glimpse of his friends, but he was home now. The forest began to look familiar as he walked eagerly between the trees, his heart lightening with every step.
His old home was gone, at least for the moment. He would return, of course, someday. But for now, that past had faded in the wind. Except for the necklace.
He looked down into the crystal pendant. Romani, Cremia, the Ranch, Clock Town, it had been blown out like a candle. He saw reflected in the pendant the final moments, playing over and over in the heart of the crystal.
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"Thanks for the help, bud," Jim said, offering Link a crooked smile. "I been meaning to fill that up for weeks!" Link glanced down from the lantern hanging from the Bombers' Tunnel ceiling and smiled at Jim. "But you're getting a little old to be a Bomber. Fourteen's supposed to be the limit, but… You been doin' your part for the last coupla years. No big deal."
Link jumped down from the footstool and handed Jim the empty oil bottle, wiping his forehead. "No problem. But I have to go home." he glanced over Jim's shoulder, out of the tunnel at the golden horizon. "It's getting dark."
"No prob, Bob. You can go whenever you like." He batted absently at a thread hanging from his sweater. Link pulled the Kokiri Sword from his leg and cut it smoothly before pushing past him, towards the end of the tunnel. He turned around and waved, backpedaling quickly away.
It was dark by the time he had reached Clock Town's city limits. Anju brushed past him, smiling radiantly. Link wondered for a moment why she was wandering outside of Clock Town after dark, when the creatures sometimes came to see the moon from the fields. He thought for a moment, and then shrugged it off. It was not long before the screaming was heard.
Link whirled around to the sight of Anju and the figure of a man, obscured in shadow. The figure spoke, and his voice was one Link knew. "And the ring. Hurry up, and no one has to be hurt." Anju attempted to tear away from the figure, but it caught her by the shoulders.
Link didn't waste any more time. "Hey! What are you doing?"
The Smiling Thief stepped from the shadows. Link had handled him before, but never like this.
"Sakon. This is braver than you. What has driven you to such desperation?"
The Smiling Thief flashed his trademark grin at Link. "Meddling in others' business is a sin, Link. You're not usually one to do the wrong thing. Why don't you move along?
"I can't do that, Sakon. Let the girl go."
He pushed Anju to the ground and approached Link, that wicked grin flashing on his lips all the while. "Or what? Are you going to threaten me to death? Or run away and let me watch you cower behind the trees? Go ahead, I'm fine either way."
The words had barely left his mouth when the Kokiri Sword seemed to jump into Link's hands and towards Sakon's throat of its own accord. The thief raised his hands up in front of the blade and took a step back. "H-hey, I don't want any trouble. The girl can go, just put the weapon away." Link slid the sword back into its sheath. As soon as it was secured, Sakon ran into Clock town with his arms stretched out in front of him, forming an almost comical pose, dropping the things he had taken from Anju out behind him. Link rushed to where Anju had fallen. He offered her his hand and she took it, rising to her feet and dusting herself off.
"Thanks, Link. Who knows what could've happened if you hadn't showed up."
Link shrugged and studied the top of his dust-bitten leather boots. "Just doing what I have to. It was my job, once."
"It still can be, if you want it to. Hey, come have dinner with Kafei and me. You can tell him the valiant story of my rescue in person. I'm sure Romani won't mind."
"No, she would," Link mixed a laugh with a sigh. "Besides, I don't feel very well. I think I should go home anyway."
"Oh. Well, get well soon, Link!" Anju took her wedding ring off the ground and continued on her path home. The truth was, he really didn't feel well. His left hand was throbbing mercilessly. He figured he had grabbed the hilt of his sword wrong in his haste, but… he had taken his sword from its sheath quickly dozens of times, and it had never hurt. The pain in his hand was curling his stomach into dreadful knots. He walked home and then took the fingerless gauntlet from his hand. His heart skipped a beat at the sight; this had never happened before.
The triforce on the back of his hand, the one that had been there since he had pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal, was glowing bright white. The light pulsed with the pain slicing up his arm.
"That can't be good… Romani?"
Romani's head poked out from the kitchen doorway. She was wearing a funny white hat that made Link snicker a little. "Nice hat, Romani."
She gave Link a look that sent him a very clear message: that's not funny.
"Link, I'm busy. What do you want?"
"I want you to look at this."
Romani walked across the kitchen, revealing that she was also wearing an apron with a sky-blue ducky pattern and carrying a beaten mixing spoon. Link lowered his head to keep laughter from bursting out of him. Romani, completely serious, kneeled down next to Link and looked at his pulsing hand. "Cool."
"Yeah, but it hurts. What's wrong with me?"
"I dunno. What were you doing before it started hurting?"
"That's a long story."
"Well, keep it to yourself, then," She got up, smiling slyly at Link. "And lemme finish cooking."
Link stood up. He wasn't laughing anymore, because he knew what he had to do. "Romani."
Romani sighed heavily and turned around. "Yes, Link?"
He didn't want to go through with it. It wasn't worth it. Why now, now that he had a home, and a life? And a family?
"C'mon, Link, spit it out."
"I think…I think I need to go home."
"Well, you are home. How much homer can you get?"
"No, real home. Back into the forest. Hyrule."
Romani dropped the spoon and stared at Link, open-mouthed. Cremia walked through the door, and both pairs of eyes turned instantly towards her. She was carrying two brown shopping bags precariously in one arm (one crammed full of coconuts) while her other hand rested on the doorknob.
"Hey guys, come help me carry stuff. There was a sale on coconuts, and—Link, what's wrong with your hand?"
"He's going home, Cremia." The expression on Romani's face only changed with the brimming of tears in her eyes.
"He's home now, isn't he?" Cremia looked down at Link, who was still nursing his pulsing hand. He looked up into her eyes and the look in them, a terrible mix of courage and despair, gave her the answer. "Oh. Home. When, Link?"
"Tomorrow, I guess. Soon. I need to."
Link didn't sleep that night. Partly because of the pain rhythmically jabbing his arm, and partly because, when his eyes closed, all he saw was the faces of his friends, all the moments in Termina. He was surprised by things that came back to him, the very smallest things. Gathering cuccos, rowing a boat, laying in the grass. What was home if not this?
Hyrule.
He grew very warm before dawn and kicked off his blankets. But the heat didn't leave until the sun peeked between far-off mountains, a dreadful dirge to Link's new life. It was time to leave.
He left early, after the sun had risen but before the day had really begun. Cold dew still touched the grass like the fingers of a child, and warm rays of light shone through the trees in perfect white beams. Link's heart dropped when he saw it. He may never see it again.
Romani and Cremia had come with him to see him off, but they would have to return home soon, and Link would be all alone. He didn't cherish the thought.
"It was good having you, Link," Cremia said, breaking the perfect silence of the perfect morning. "We were glad for you while you were here. Promise that if you ever come back, you'll visit us." She held her pinky finger out to Link, who took it in his. They broke apart again and Cremia blew him a kiss before taking her leave. She was gone, but Romani wasn't.
"I'm not ready for you to leave yet, Link," she said, and a tear broke her gaze.
"I have to, Romani. What am I gonna do if I don't? It's time."
Romani lifted something from her pocket and looked deeply at it for a moment. "I don't know where I got this. This morning I just… had it. Maybe I found it last night, I dunno. But I think it belongs to you."
She held the thing by a chain protruding from the top. It was a crystal, cut perfectly into a point on one end and tapering into the chain on the other. It was beautiful, and held Link's gaze for a moment before he broke away.
"It's not mine, Romani. Maybe it's Cremia's."
"No, it's yours. Even if you've never seen it before, I know it's yours. Take it." She jabbed it at him, and he took it. He put it over his neck, and it felt safe there, secure, like it was meant to be there.
"Come back, Link. I'm serious. If you don't ever come back, I'm going to kill you." Her completely serious expression never left her face. Link smiled one last time.
"I love you, Romani." And it was true. Not as a man loves a woman, but as a brother loves his sister. And she was his sister, and he would carry that with him forever.
"I love you too, Link. Don't forget us here. Let the necklace help remind you. And…Come back."
He wrapped her up in a final embrace, and she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. And on that perfect morning, he was happy.
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Almost home.
Nightfall had long since broken, and the Lost Woods were at an end. Link leaned on the huge hollow log serving as an entrance to the Kokiri village for a moment, overlooking his long-forgotten home. He had forgotten how beautiful it was. The fireflies brought a glow to the air, making the whole forest appear to be caught in a dim green fire. A half-moon, partly obscured by thin wisps of cloud, glistened off of the newly wet grass. It was Kokiri Village, his village, the one he had left behind. He was glad to see it again.
Remembering his old childhood rhythm, he jogged of to his left and leapt from a ledge onto the roof of the Kokiri Forest's only shop. Without losing momentum he jumped again, from the roof to the ground. He rolled onto his feet and skipped over the stepping stones across the river, laughing quietly to himself. He practically sprinted up his treehouse's ladder (it seemed so much larger four years ago) and ran inside. From the one window the moonlight shone in, revealing the silhouette dark figure.
"Link! You're home…" the voice startled him. He drew the Kokiri sword from his leg and jumped a step backwards.
"Oh, put that away, Link. You always were a little jumpy with that sword."
Saria stood up, and the moonlight touched her soft smile. Link put his sword away and smiled back. This was his home, and she was his family. Wasn't she?
Saria wrapped her arms around Link's waist and hugged him tight, then pulled away and laughed quietly. "It's good to see you, Link."
She sat back down and looked around the room. "Sometimes when I'm missing you, I'll come in here and just… look around. I thought maybe if I came in here I'd be able to feel a little bit of you left. I did tonight, and I knew you were home." She smiled and sighed. "We missed you, Link." And he knew he was home. He was home in Termina, and now he was home here. This was his family.
"Tired, huh? I would be, too." She got up and walked towards the door. "If you need anything, just… ask." She winked and left the treehouse. Link sat down on his old bed and laid a hand on its rough surface. It was bigger when he had left, just like everything else. He sat back and smiled. He was home.
Home.
